TORONTO - As Toronto FC prepares for a challenging four-game road trip, manager Ryan Nelsen and his braintrust face some troubling questions. New York Jets Jerseys . Make no mistake, the big picture remains positive. Toronto (7-6-5) is headed for its best ever season and first trip to the playoffs. The roster and team culture have been smartly remade. But injuries and suspensions have made it difficult to find the right mix of pieces to complete the puzzle. And mentally, Toronto has yet to show that it can kill off a game on a regular basis when it has its foot on the other teams neck. The officiating stole many of the headlines in Saturdays 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City, but the inability to finish and some sloppy defending cost Toronto more than the decision-making of referee Ted Unkel. "Two very soft goals and we havent got our balance right yet in that midfield," said Nelsen. "Maybe (we were) missing a couple of key players, but our balance wasnt right on the two goals. We were spectators. In a time when we had to be urgent and our intensity had to be focused, we just hoped somebody would do their job and that was unfortunate." Sadly soft goals have been a common theme of late, with the backline losing its shape and getting punished. Toronto was missing star striker Jermain Defoe (suspension), captain/centre back Steven Caldwell and right back Mark Bloom (knee) against the MLS champions. Defoe will be back when Toronto kicks off its road trip against D.C. United (10-5-4) but Toronto will be without centre back Doneil Henry on Wednesday due to accumulation of yellow cards. Toronto then plays at Montreal, Columbus and Kansas City. Torontos defenders were all over the place on Kansas Citys goals (in the 48th minute by Graham Zusi and 80th by former TFC midfielder Jacob Peterson). Brazilian winger Jackson had opened the scoring for Toronto in the 16th minute. Kansas City players flooded into the penalty box on the first goal by the visitors, with the ball eventually ricocheting back to Zusi who curled it into the top of the goal with Joe Bendik stranded out of position. On the second, Toronto was unable to defend a deflected cross and Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer flicked the ball back to Peterson, who beat Bendik from close range. Nelsen complained some of his players had settled for spots that would have worked out well had their teammates won the ball back. But they did not. "They were some guys that were spectating and getting into nice comfortable position but werent influencing the game, they werent helping out their teammates," he said. "Thats a hardness that we lost, I think," he added, "(and) that we need to get back." Nelsen played a midfield of Jackson, Michael Bradley, Collen Warner and Dominic Oduro against Kansas City, Oduro terrorized the KC defence and Jackson, making a terrific run to take advantage of a marvellous Oduro pass that split the defence, scored one goal and could have had three on the night. But the Brazilian winger was one player who seemed to be lying in wait for a possible counter-attack on one of the Kansas City goals. And Oduros mind set is offence not defence. On a micro level, Nelsens frustration Saturday was that his team got it right for most of the game other than two lapses of concentration. On a larger level, he sees a good team unable yet to take the final step to becoming a very good one. "But this is why its such a great game," he said. "Nothing is given to you here, is it. Youve got to keep working, take little steps, little steps, little steps and eventually these results will go your way and youll learn from your mistakes. "Weve got some young guys, we had a couple of young players out in the backline. Weve still got some new players coming into the team. I feel bad for the guys, because we are very close." Nelsen saw plenty of positives, which perhaps made the loss more upsetting. "Our transition was just brilliant today. We absolutely destroyed them today on it." The pace of Oduro and Jackson, coupled with fine passing from Bradley and others did rip Kansas City apart repeatedly. "The bottom line is that on too many days were the team not coming away with points," said Bradley. "Over the course of a season, these games add up and mean that youre not in the position we should be. So weve to take a long hard look at ourselves at the moment and really find a way to translate at times good play and dominating games and turn that into points and wins." The league will no doubt review Saturdays officiating and the comments that followed. "Its by no means an excuse, it was the same for both teams, but the referee was absolutely awful," Bradley said after carefully choosing his words. "The people at the MLS (head) office in New York, when they talk about wanting to improve the league, the first thing that needs to be improved is the refereeing, bottom line. "That shouldnt come across as sour grapes because thats just the reality. And it was bad for both teams and Im sure theyre sitting in their locker-room saying the same thing to themselves but theyve got three points with them and that certainly makes it a little easier to swallow." Unkel issued eight yellow cards, including five to Toronto. Kansas City was reduced to 10 men in the 75th minute when captain/defender Matt Besler got a second yellow. Foremost on Torontos list of complaints was a no-call in the 23rd minute when Unkel waved play on after Kansas City defender Aurelien Collin, chasing Brazilian striker Gilberto after a deft through ball from Bradley, appeared to clip the Brazilians leg. Gilberto, who had a clear path on goal, went down and Bradley went after the referee imploring for a call, which should have garnered Collin a red card. The French defender went unpunished and Toronto got the first four yellows of the night. "Collin should have been sent off. I mean an under-12 ref can pick that one," Nelsen said with disgust. "Thats pretty basic." Kansas City coach Peter Vermes had a different view of the officiating. "I thought the referee did a good job tonight, that is my personal opinion," he said. "I dont think it was an easy game to ref. "I really liked his management of the game, the things that you can control the ball going out of bounds and the guy trying to steal 15 yards. Those are the things that drive us nuts as coaches, the little calls you might miss or might get, but those things he did a good job of and kept the game going on both sides. Toronto hit the woodwork twice in the first half. Trumaine Johnson Jets Jersey . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. Chris Herndon Jets Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Darcy Kuemper, Minnesota (5): He was calm, poised, and looked comfortable all game. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Trenton-Cannon-Jersey/ . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit.CLEVELAND -- The Indians can thank their starting pitching for keeping them in playoff contention. Trevor Bauer continued that trend Sunday by taking a shutout into the seventh and Cleveland hung on for a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros. The Indians (66-63) have used strong work by their rotation to stay in the post-season picture. Clevelands starters have recorded a 1.71 ERA in 13 games since Aug. 9. Manager Terry Francona knows securing a playoff spot wont be easy. The Indians trail Kansas City by six games in the AL Central and are battling several teams in the crowded wild card race. "We have our work cut out for us, but if we pitch like that were going to give ourselves a chance," he said. The Indians have won four of their last five series, including three straight. "We havent been scoring a ton of runs," he said. "The hope is the pitching stays strong and we start scoring runs, spreading a few games out." The starters have allowed 15 earned runs in 79 innings in their dominant stretch. Bauer (5-7), winning for the first time since July 18, held Houston to four hits and struck out nine. The right-hander was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk in the seventh. "Every day you run a new guy out there and you have this feeling youre going to have a really good start," Bauer said. "Its nice for the team to have that confidence. Its been unbelievable." Cody Allen, the Indians fourth pitcher, worked out of ninth-inning trouble for his 17th save. He walked pinch-hitter Chris Carter to start the inning and gave up a one-out single to Jake Marisnick. Jose Altuve, the ALs leading hitter, singled to load the bases with two outs, but Allen struck out Dexter Fowler to end his 29-pitch outing. Carlos Santanas sacrifice fly in the third put Cleveland ahead while Lonnie Chisenhall had an RBI single in the fourth. Jose Ramirez added an RBI single in the seventh. Rookie right fielder Tyler Holt helped Bauer with two outstanding defensive plays. Holt robbed Marc Krauss of a hit with a diving catch to end the first inning with a runner on first. Isaiah Crowell Jets Jersey. Holt again took a hit away from Krauss with another diving catch for the first out of the sixth, also with a man on first. Bauer was 0-3 in his last six starts coming into the game in a season that has been marked by cases of wild inconsistency. He allowed five first-inning runs in two of his last three starts, but didnt give up a hit until the sixth in the other. "Hell go through spurts where he throws three or four balls in a row, but you look up and hes throwing a lot of strikes," Francona said. "He has periods where he kind of loses what hes doing, but he really competes. He gets mad at himself when he doesnt do what he wants." TAKE A BREAK OF Michael Brantley, in a 3-for-30 slump since Aug. 15, wasnt in Sundays lineup. With the Indians off Monday, Francona thinks the two-day break will help the All-Star, who snapped an 0-for-15 skid Saturday with an RBI single. Brantley is batting .311 and has already reached career highs in homers (18) and RBIs (81). BETTER REST UP The Indians dont play Monday, their last off-day until Sept. 25. Cleveland will play 30 consecutive days beginning with Tuesdays game in Chicago. The Indians were scheduled to be off Sept. 8, but instead will host the Angels in a make-up of a rainout in June. TRAINERS ROOM Astros: RHP Brad Peacock (sore forearm) is expected to start Wednesday against Oakland. He was pulled after five innings Friday, but played catch Sunday. Indians: C Yan Gomes (seven-day concussion disabled list) is expected to accompany the team on its road trip that begins Tuesday in Chicago. Hes eligible to be activated Friday. UP NEXT Astros: RHP Scott Feldman (7-9) opens a three-game series at home against Oakland on Monday. He matched a career high with 121 pitches in defeating the Yankees in his last start. Indians: LHP T.J. House (2-3) will start the opener of a three-game series against the White Sox on Tuesday. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine straight starts. Cheap Football Norway Jerseys Cheap Nigeria Soccer Jerseys Cheap Morocco Soccer Jerseys Cheap Mexico Soccer Jerseys Cheap Japan Soccer Jerseys Cheap Italy Soccer Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Authentic Cheap Mexico Jerseys Authentic Cheap Colombia Jerseys Authentic Cheap Belgium Jerseys Authentic Cheap Brazil Jerseys Authentic Cheap Argentina Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Germany Jerseys Wholesale Brazil Jerseys Wholesale Portugal Jerseys Wholesale Argentina Jerseys Wholesale Belgium Jerseys Wholesale France Jerseys Wholesale Spain Jerseys Wholesale England Jerseys ' ' '